Small Faces, Gillies Mackinnon's evocation of a rough, tough childhood in 1960s Glasgow is certainly nowhere near as brash as that other depiction of Scotland, Trainspotting (a smash hit in the UK), but in many ways it is the more resonant film.

Its hero, "wee man" Lex (Iain Robertson) is a 13-year-old ragamuffin who runs with the gangs, but is also influenced by his dreamy, art-loving older brother, Alan. Moments of high comedy (Lex shooting a rival gang leader in the backside with an air gun or procuring a skeleton for Alan) are interspersed with vicious outbreaks of gang warfare and lyrical, romantic sequences.

Mackinnon, who co-wrote the script with his brother Billy, makes no apologies for the behaviour of his protagonists. It wasn't unemployment or social deprivation or parental neglect that drove the teenagers into gang warfare. It was the sheer buzz of it. By the same token, he doesn't shirk from showing the violence in its full, stomach-churning brutality.

It's clear that the McKinnon brothers know their terrain, both the old world of Glaswegian tenement flats and the austere new housing estates which sprouted up to replace them in the 1960s.

Although there are some breathtaking set-pieces (notably the murder at the ice rink), it's the attention to detail, the sense of time and place, which makes this such an affecting experience.

Geoffrey Macnab

Prod Co: Skyline

Prods: Billy Mackinnon/Steve Clarke-Hall

Dir: Gillies Mackinnon

Scr: Billy Mackinnon/Gillies Mackinnon

Ed: Scott Thomas

Prod des: Zoe MacLeod

Music: John Keane

Cast: Clare Higgins, Ian McElhinney, Joseph McFadden, Steven Duffy, Iain Robertson

Running Time: 108 mins

International sales: The Sales Co

Screening: 26 June, 22.00, KCP-Kongressovy

[Home ] [Content ] [The Sponsors ] [The Team ] [Comments ] [Help ]